Pound struggles due to Brexit uncertainty
British blue chips outperformed their European peers on Monday morning as fears over Britain’s European Union exit terms sank the pound,
Oil majors BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell also helped keep the FTSE in the black, boosted by higher oil prices after top exporter Saudi Arabia announced a supply cut in December.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 0.2 percent by 1015 GMT, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index FTSE MID 250 .FTMC, which is widely seen as a proxy to play Brexit fears, was down about 1 percent.
Most European bourses were trading in negative territory, with the Euro Stoxx retreating 0.4 percent.
“The FTSE is seen leading the charge in Europe, drawing support from a Brexit weakened pound and rallying oil price”, wrote Jasper Lawler from London Capital Group ahead of the open.
The pound was close to one percent lower against the dollar after British Prime Minister Theresa May was reported to have called off a special cabinet meeting on Brexit amid signs she may not get parliamentary backing for her proposed compromise with Brussels. A government source said no cabinet meeting had been scheduled for Monday.
Miners, which have strong revenue flows in dollars, also pushed blue chips higher with Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and BHP Billiton (BLT.L) up respectively 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent.
Published: by Radio NewsHub